The coaching assistants who were laid off in 2023 and are fortunate enough to be back on the job in the UFL have signed new contracts, which began on January 1 and run until July 1.
They were given until the new year to agree to a reduction in pay and new league terms.
The deadline ultimately led to Hines Ward passing on a return to the league and opened the door for Wade Phillips to take the reins in San Antonio.
Unfortunately, Hines Ward’s decision also affected his assistants, who were days away from going back on the payroll after months of receiving unemployment insurance.
Head coaches like Wade Phillips, who is under a multi-year deal with the XFL, would have been compensated while Ward sat idle during the UFL 2024 season. Instead, because of Ward’s decision, Wade is back in the saddle and bringing over assistants from the 2023 Roughnecks.
XFL head coaches in 2023 all received multi-year deals and were paid in the six-figure range yearly. That practice will slowly subside in the new league. Wade Phillips and the other three returning head coaches in the conference of former XFL teams — Reggie Barlow, Anthony Becht and Bob Stoops — all agreed to the reduction in future pay, taking the “we’ll cross that bridge” approach to safeguarding their assistants.
Expect to also see the XFL side fall in line with the USFL’s player pay structure.